Editorial: Amid crises worldwide, don’t ignore Libya powderkeg

Published 5:52 pm, Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Photo: Amr Nabil — The Associated Press

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Libyan representative at the Arab League Ashour Abu-Rashed, right, talks to his Egyptian counterpart Tarek Adel, during an emergency representatives meeting to discuss the conflict in Libya, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 5. less

Libyan representative at the Arab League Ashour Abu-Rashed, right, talks to his Egyptian counterpart Tarek Adel, during an emergency representatives meeting to discuss the conflict in Libya, at the Arab League ... more

Photo: Amr Nabil — The Associated Press

Editorial: Amid crises worldwide, don’t ignore Libya powderkeg

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While our eyes focus on the horrors of Paris or the latest outrage from ISIS or Vladimir Putin’s latest escapade, the world most assuredly has not been paying much attention to Libya.

We fear that will change soon as the North African nation with its infamous past appears ready to make headlines again.

Conditions there are ripe for a nasty civil war that has the potential to further complicate matters in an already wobbly region.

As one of the flashpoints for the so called Arab spring four years ago, Libya — like most of the other nations in that movement — overthrew a tyrant and is now a mess.

The oil-rich nation initially took positive steps toward self-governance after a coalition of factions overthrew longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi. Alas, that coalition could not hold and Libya’s promise has spiraled into chaos.

It literally has two governments with two parliaments. Both governments lay claim to the central bank and the nationalized oil company, i.e. the money.

If that isn’t enough, there is virtually no law enforcement remaining and various “militia”groups — both Islamic and secular — have pillaged the nation.

Most Americans might shrug and say, so what? Indeed, it is not an unreasonable stance, especially considering our other difficulties in the region.

After all, Libya does not have many of the complicating factors found in places such as Yemen, Syria or Iraq. Its population is relatively homogeneous and does not have centuries-old divisions around ethnicity and religion.

But the problem here is that Libya’s wealth potential has caused other nations in the region to insert themselves into the conversation. The Islamist factions have been able to solicit involvement from such notables as Turkey, Qatar and Sudan. Meanwhile, the more recognized eastern alliance has drawn support from, among others, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. In essence, the country is importing from other lands those timeworn hatreds it lacks.

Besides that, this increasing lawless behavior — especially gun running and human trafficking in the south — has spilled across Libya’s borders and now threatens to sweep through the interior of Africa, which would be a disaster.

Let us be clear, we are certainly not arguing for U.S. military presence in this quagmire. That would be a stupendous mistake. However, we should not ignore it, either. The U.S. should partner with the U.N., the Arab League and the African Union to broker a diplomatic solution that keeps the lid on.

The European Union has interest here, too, as any explosive fight in Libya would almost certainly send a deluge of refugees across the Mediterranean into southern Europe.

We recognize everyone is busy, but the situation in Libya is dire and it can’t be ignored much longer.